ENG 281: Week 2 - Classic Ghost Films (16 Week)

 Lyons, Kevin, Mike Muncer, and Adam Nyman. "Ghosts Pt. 1: An Introduction." The Evolution of Horror [This is a conversation on the history of ghost films and was the initial episode in a season on the subgenre - the rest of the episodes are located here ]

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Ghosts: Classic Films

Our film options this week:

Kuroneko (Japan: Kaneto Shindo, 1968) [Shindo's film is a beautiful and eerie tale.]
"In this poetic and atmospheric horror fable, set in a village in war-torn medieval Japan, a malevolent spirit has been ripping out the throats of itinerant samurai. When a military hero is sent to dispatch the unseen force, he finds that he must struggle with his own personal demons as well. From Kaneto Shindo, director of the terror classic Onibaba, Kuroneko (Black Cat) is a spectacularly eerie twilight tale with a shocking feminist angle, evoked through ghostly special effects and exquisite cinematography."

The Fog (USA: John Carpenter, 1980) [Make sure to watch the 1980 version, not the 2005 remake. John Carpenter is considered a master horror filmmaker, based upon Peter Straub's popular horror novel.]

"Strange things begin to occurs as a tiny California coastal town prepares to commemorate its centenary. Inanimate objects spring eerily to life; Rev. Malone stumbles upon a dark secret about the town’s founding; radio announcer Stevie witnesses a mystical fire; and hitchhiker Elizabeth discovers the mutilated corpse of a fisherman. Then a mysterious iridescent fog descends upon the village, and more people start to die."

The Shining (USA/UK: Stanley Kubrick, 1980) [Considered by many to be a masterpiece of horror and made by one of the best 20th Century filmmakers, based on Stephen King's popular horror novel - King hated the film, and one of the most analyzed/theorized films.]
"Jack Torrance accepts a caretaker job at the Overlook Hotel, where he, along with his wife Wendy and their son Danny, must live isolated from the rest of the world for the winter. But they aren’t prepared for the madness that lurks within."

The Poltergeist (USA: Tobe Hooper, 1982) [Directed by the maker of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, this a very influential ghost story that brought them into the modern American suburbs and exposed the evil underneath middle-America] 
"Steve Freeling lives with his wife, Diane, and their three children, Dana, Robbie, and Carol Anne, in Southern California where he sells houses for the company that built the neighborhood. It starts with just a few odd occurrences, such as broken dishes and furniture moving around by itself. However, when he realizes that something truly evil haunts his home, Steve calls in a team of parapsychologists led by Dr. Lesh to help before it’s too late."

The Sixth Sense (USA: M. Night Shyamalan, 1999) [This was Shyamalan's debut film and literally made his career. It was a pivotal film in the horror/thriller subgenre that was extremely popular at the turn of the century, known as "mind-fuck films" as detailed in this article Eig, Jonathan. "A beautiful mind(fuck): Hollywood structures of identity." Jump Cut #46 (2003) - do not read the article before seeing the film, it will ruin it]
"Following an unexpected tragedy, child psychologist Malcolm Crowe meets a nine year old boy named Cole Sear, who is hiding a dark secret."